SHORT NOTES. 211 



where no map is made on the ground, and only notes taken to 

 be afterwards used for the compilation of the route. Many of 

 the important towns in unsurveyed countries are ill -defined 

 straggling- places that extend over a considerable area, and are 

 surrounded by outlying villages and gardens. Now, suppose one 

 traveller pitches his camp in a garden to the north of the town, 

 observes a latitude, and gives his result as the latitude *of the 

 town ; while another traveller does the same south of the town, 

 it is obvious that the two values will differ considerably. 



As a matter of fact, in some cases the latitudes given for 

 the same place by competent observers have been found to differ 

 by as much as two to three miles. The explanation is, of course, 

 simple — the observations were no doubt taken at different places ; 

 but, all the same, the compiler is at a loss which to adopt. 



If, however, each traveller were to state how far and on 

 what bearing his place of observation lay from the centre of the 

 town, or, better still, from the most conspicuous object in the 

 town, the position of which with regard to the town should be 

 described, the discrepancy would be at once cleared up, and the 

 observations of both travellers would be strictly comparable. 



It is essential that all the original observations should be 

 carefully recorded in ink and sent home to the compiler, so that 

 he may check the working and form a sound opinion as to their 

 reliability. 



Importance of identifying and fixing places 

 visited by former travellers. 



(VI.) — Travellers should remember ttat a well-executed 

 route reconnaissance is valuable not only for itself, but also for 

 the light it throws on the work of previous explorers, and for the 

 use that can be made of it as an anchorage on which to tie the 

 work of subsequent explorers. They should, therefore, take 

 every opportunity of cutting routes that have been previously 

 traversed, and of fixing on their sketch points that have been 

 shown already on other travellers' routes. 



The difficulty that they will experience in recognising the 

 routes of other travellers will teach them better than anything 

 else the precautions they should take to render their own route 

 easy of identification. 



